


Sunshine in an Empty Place

by catherinewestwood



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:10:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10058360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catherinewestwood/pseuds/catherinewestwood
Summary: An unstoppable force meets an immovable object.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Clearly I am unable to write anything but trash angst. Enjoy?

It was 7:31AM and Jess' phone rang. "Hello?"

"Jess, it's me."

Jess barely stopped herself from saying, 'Yes, Kerry, I have caller ID,' but just. "Good morning, Kerry. How can I help you?"

"Look up Liz Anderson's column today and call me back."

"Rude," Jess muttered at the dial tone that greeted her headset and pulled up her browser's search engine. 

_'Well, well, well, what have we here? Children, this is gonna be epic. Auntie isn't one to lead you astray: Imagine the two most powerful forces in this fair city of ours. Now imagine them doing the dirty. No, no, forget the men and all their boring hetro banging. I'm talking the sapphic variety. Little birds are telling me there's more ~~afoot~~ aflight, shall we say, than meets the eye. More to come, dearies, but there's romance with Shakespearean feuding giving way to true wuv. Keep your eyes peeled to the skies!" _

Jess mentally gagged and then gulped. She hit 'redial' on her office phone. Kerry picked up on the first ring. "Did you read it?"

"It's vague enough to deny."

"For now. But if Liz has more, then we have a problem."

"Who are her sources anyway?"

"Really? Who cares? No, I know this is a problem. If _I_ know this is a problem, then this is a problem." 

"I can neither confirm nor deny there is a problem."

"That works for the CIA, but this is the rags." 

"So what are you suggesting?"

"You're going to have to bring it up with her. First thing once she's in."

"That's in twenty minutes. What do you want me to say?"

"Show it to her. She can draw conclusions."

"What are you recommending?"

Kerry sighed. "She's going to have to end it. Immediately."

Jess snorted. "Yes, that will go over well."

" _You_ won't have to suggest it."

"I'm not _going_ to suggest it. It's her call."

"Jess, let's be real here. It's the only call." 

That's what Jess feared. And the weather today had shown such promise. 

____________________________

 

Lena leaned forward in her chair. "How's the day looking?"

"Your 10:30 had to get moved; the 10 wasn't going to be done in thirty minutes. I looked at the presentation."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Um."

Lena's eyebrows rose. "Jess?"

Jess handed her a print out. "I thought it best to keep it off of e-mail. This was in this morning's issue." 

Lena read it and with every passing moment, her lips tightened. Her eyes closed briefly, and then she looked up at Jess. "Who else knows?"

"Kerry. She brought it to my attention."

"I bet she did," Lena muttered. She re-read the piece twice and then sighed. "Fuck." 

Jess chewed on her lip. 

Lena took a deep breath. "Who's at the top at this paper?"

"I'm assuming you want to go above the Editor-in-Chief?"

"Yes."

"Well James Olsen is currently overseeing the entire conglomerate, but..."

Lena's eyes widened for a moment before she dropped her head into her hands. "Of course."

Jess grimaced. "Yeah."

Lena didn't say anything, just took a very, very deep breath. "Jess."

"Yes?"

"We need to locate Cat Grant. Now."

 

 

_______________________________________

 

Jess rarely ran but she did power-walk, and she power-walked herself into the bowels of L-Corp. It took her selective security pass in the elevator, then a retinal scan in the first door, then a five-finger-and-palm scan at the second, and finally a gait analysis in the third corridor before the last doors gave way to the cavernous basement set-up of L-Corp's finest technical expertise. 

Or as Jaden liked to put it, 'three billion bazingas worth of wires.' She tried to like him, she really did. "Hey, Jaden."

He didn't look up from his comic book. "Hey."

"So I need your help."

"Hm."

"Jaden. Really. Wait, shouldn't you be working?"

He looked up over the rim of his glasses. "This is why you'll never be popular, Jess."

"You should know."

He nearly smiled. "What's up?"

"We need to find Cat Grant."

" _The_ Cat Grant?"

"Yes."

"Okay, background?"

"She left National City six months ago on some sort of sabbatical and left James Olsen in charge of her media conglomerate." 

"And?"

"That's it, that's all we've got."

He rolled his eyes. "This isn't the NSA, y'know. I can't just magically ping her cell phone. Do you have her cell phone number?"

"No...?"

He closed his eyes. "Social security number?" 

"Nope."

"E-mail address?"

"I mean, I could Google it."

"Jess."

"What! We only found out ten minutes ago we needed to find her."

"You have to give me something to go on. Don't we know anyone at CatCo who can help us?"

"We absolutely cannot contact CatCo about this."

He rolled his eyes. "Then you're going to have to give me something to go on."

"Okay, I have the flight she took out of National City when she started her sabbatical."

"How did you get that?"

"Kerry."

"But she couldn't get you anything else?"

"That took enough work as it is."

"This is why I hate those fucking Bourne movies. Makes it seem like everyone is the fucking NSA. Christ. How long do I have?"

"About ten minutes?"

"Jess!"

"What! It's really important!"

"I'll need an hour. At least. And doughnuts."

"I'll call the delivery service."

______________________________________________

 

"You're sure?" Lena asked as she looked at the coordinates. 

"Well Jaden is sure, so I'm as sure as Jaden is."

Lena looked down at the information. Rome. A tad predictable but seemingly a sure bet. "Okay, we need to have a conversation but it needs to be secure."

"So I thought about that and I think maybe we need to get her one of our tablets. Just to be sure the line is secure."

Lena looked up. "But we only have a few prototypes."

Jess nodded. Lena bit her lip. "You're going to have to fly there."

Jess blanched. "Me??"

"We need someone we trust to deliver proprietary tech into her hands to have a damn conversation. Do you know anyone in our EU offices who can do that? Plus, all the prototypes are here."

Jess took a deep breath. "I'll get the jet fueled up."

Lena called to her as she was about to turn away. "Jess. Thank you."

She nodded. Thank God she always had her passport in her purse.

____________________________

 

Cobbled stone sidewalks should be outlawed as far as Jess was concerned, and anyone who wore heels when walking in Rome should be institutionalized. Still as she walked into the J.K. Place hotel in Rome, it wasn't exactly where she pictured the infamous Cat Grant staying. As the lobby gave way to an expansive bar, she tapped her ear piece. "Jaden, it's me."

"Me, who?"

"Really? C'mon. I'm in."

"She should be at the bar. According to her phone's GPS anyhow. I'd like to reiterate how unreliable those things are but--"

"I get it. I'll keep an eye out. And hey?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." 

"Five hundred more doughnuts and we're even."

"Bye now." She clicked the mute button and cast a weathered eye around until she saw the telltale blonde curls. She straightened suit jacket and marched over. With the most generous smile in her arsenal she said, "Ms. Grant?"

 

 

 

\-- To be concluded in Part 2 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When an immovable object speaks to an unstoppable force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MOAR TRASH ANGST.

"You have thirty seconds to tell me what the hell is going on," Cat says to the face on the screen.

Lena does not gulp but she is sure she would be forgiven if she did. "Ms. Grant, thank you for agreeing to speak with me. I promise to be fast. Basically, it has to do with one of your gossip columnists."

Cat narrows her eyes. "You do realize I'm no longer involved in the daily operations of my publications?"

"Yes, but this is a piece that may require your personal attention."

"I'm still waiting."

Lena wants to rub her forehead but lessons drilled in about not messing up her make up stop her from any act of outward comfort. "Liz Anderson in the Trib has a blurb that is...problematic. I need your help."

Cat's eyebrows drop. "Can you be more specific?"

Lena presses her lips together. "It's been sent you on the mail program on the tablet you're holding. It has end-to-end encryption."

"Well that's all lovely," Cat snarks as she reaches for her glasses and then switches windows to access the mail app on the tablet.

The screen momentarily goes dark on Lena's end since Cat is accessing another app and the young CEO takes a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose. She badly wants to sigh because how is this her life? She misses Kara, who has surprisingly been absent over text and Lena isn't going to be the one to text when she has to put out this fire first. And it's not like she and Kara have had any "DTR" conversations so she doesn't know if Kara is fucking half of National City but Lena _knows_ a story about a Luthor sleeping with a Super is a grade-A shit show. She misses Kara at various moments in her day so Lena knows her own heart is soft when it comes to the reporter; when Lena closes her eyes for a respite during her work day, she often smiles and thinks about her lover. That has to count for something.

She also misses her extremely capable assistant because Lena's calendar for the day has gone to shit and Jess is cooling her heels outside Cat Grant's suite in Rome since the _Queen of All Media_ has unceremoniously told Jess to wait outside while this very conversation occurs. Lena takes a deep silent breath because this _is_ her life and she signed up for it and she will deal with it like the fucking boss that she is.

Cat reappears on the screen. "I read it. Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes."

Cat's gaze is unflinching. "Is it true?"

Lena bites the side of her cheek. "Yes."

Cat blinks. "Fine. What's your offer?"

This part comes as naturally as breathing to Lena. "A personal favor from me, no questions asked with no time limitation. As you can imagine, given the resources at my disposal, this would be a gigantic, open-ended boon."

Cat's eyes narrow. "Completely open-ended?"

Lena takes a breath. "With exceptions for personal safety and national security, yes."

Cat does not smirk but she wants to. "Agreed on the first, disagree on the second. A scoop is a scoop."

Lena does not blink. "Done."

"I'll make the call."

Lena exhales audibly. "Thank you, Cat. I truly appreciate it."

Cat doesn't say anything but she does lean back in her chair. Lena has the distinct feeling this conversation is not over so she just waits.

"And what about her alter ego?"

Lena bites her lip. "What do you mean?"

Cat rolls her eyes. "I think you know."

Lena wants to ask, 'Yes, but do _you_?' Instead she says, "I'm aware of both of their identities."

"Hmmmm. And I assume you know the history?"

"About the you and her? Yes."

Cat almost smiles. "Ballsy of you to make this call."

Lena's smile is all teeth. "You don't know me that well." 

Cat leans forward in degrees, intent. "But I know your family. I've interviewed Lex and your mother many times."

Lena's smile turns brittle. "They are my family, but I am not them."

"Interesting. Would you be willing to do an interview for the Trib?"

"Are you calling in your favor?"

Cat laughs then. "No, that would be a colossal waste. You should be careful with your favors, Lena. And your choices."

"Are you warning me off?"

"No, I'm speaking from experience. There will be other outlets, other sources, other leaks. Something like this, it will come out. No pun intended. You can't stop it. Next time, it may not be one of my properties. I don't have to tell you how messy that would turn out to be."

Lena leans forward as if she could ask all the questions in her head if only she were close enough. "There has to be a way."

Cat isn't one to clench her jaw but her lips do turn downwards. "There isn't. Trust me."

"Is that why you left?"

It's less of a question and more of a statement and Cat treats it as such. "Yes."

Lena recognizes that there's a wealth of meaning in that one word -- Left Kara? Left Supergirl? Left both? Left National City? -- but while she has some masochistic tendencies, those are sybaritic in nature. She is not going to grill the former lover of her current lover on why their relationship ended; manners count for something these days, after all. "Thank you, Cat, for your help. I am very grateful."

Cat nearly smiles. "I'd wish you good luck...But if you found a solve when I couldn't (when I tried with everything I had), then I wouldn't be very pleased. Impressed maybe, but not at all pleased."

Lena isn't ready to grin because nothing has been fixed in the grander scheme of things. Not really. But she can and will be magnanimous. "I hope you have a wonderful time in Rome."

Cat nods and disconnects the video call. Lena leans back in her chair and closes her eyes. Even by a Luthor's standard, this day would rank as one of the most surreal. 

\----------------------------------

"Hello."

"Jess, how did it go?"

"Well she opened the door, thrust the tablet in my hands, and then slammed the door shut again."

Lena sighed. "Well it went as well as could be expected on my end."

"The jet is gassed up. I'll be back in the office in six hours."

"Don't come in. Go home. Thank you very much for today. This couldn't have happened without you."

"All in a day's work, boss. By the way, we owe Jaden five hundred donuts."

"How is he going to eat that many in one sitting?"

"I don't want to know. I'll have them delivered tomorrow."

"Send them to my office. We can hand deliver them to him as thanks."

"He'll probably faint."

Lena laughed. "Okay, I'm signing off. I need to text Kara. Jess, this stays on the DL. Completely. Just tell Kerry it's handled. I don't want to hear about it from her."

"You got it. See you tomorrow.

__________________________________________

Cat Grant made no apologies for the luxury she maintained herself in. The suite in Rome served its purpose on multiple levels; she looks around at the shredded bed sheets and the overturned furniture. She smiles. Cat takes off her dress and puts on the bathrobe, which is the type of absurdly comfortable ones only available at ridiculously expensive hotels, and walks to the bathroom door. She takes a deep breath and opens the door and exhales on seeing that the cavernous bathtub's occupant is still there. 

"I told you not to go down for croissants. You should have ordered room service."

Cat smirks. "But then I'd have missed out on so much."

Kara raises an eyebrow. "Trust me, Cat, if you'd stayed, you'd have been too busy for anything else."

Cat doesn't ask if Kara heard everything that just transpired. She already knows the truth.

They have a rule about 'no questions asked' and they only see each other once a month in hotel rooms all across the world that aren't in National City. Kara's Super suit is discarded in one corner of the suite and Cat wants to get in the tub with her. So she walks up to the rim and Kara sloshes her way across the gigantic sunken structure until she's right in front of her erstwhile mentor. 

Kara looks up at Cat and there's vulnerability there. But Cat will not ask so that Kara does not have to answer. The only time they have is now. 

Cat runs a gentle hand through Kara's hair and Kara closes her eyes and leans into the embrace. Cat whispers, "I have to make a quick work call to the Trib. Will you be here in five minutes?"

Kara opens her eyes. "You have me for the next three hours, Cat. Hurry back."

 

\-- FIN 


End file.
